Dust And Shards
by Stevethebarbarian
Summary: Two worlds. Five and a half gems. Eight and a half monsters. Three humans. One little yellow flower. And an experience that none of them would ever forget.
1. Episode 1: Beginnings

**Note: This story utilizes a diverging timeline beginning at two different points. That means that after the starting point of this story, nothing will follow any future story of either UNDERTALE or Steven Universe. The Steven Universe story will start directly after the end of the episode "Bismuth," while UNDERTALE's story takes place about a year after the True Pacifist ending of UNDERTALE. Also, yeah, the UT crew's got an OC among them, but make of that what you will.**

Everyone was moving kinda fast, and Steven was having a bit of trouble keeping up. Of course, this was just par for the course at this point, but he wished that the Gems would at least pause what they were doing for a second, just long enough to explain what was _going on._

"Hey! Could you guys slow down for a second!"

No one paid any attention.

"C'mon, guys! What's going on?"

Despite Steven's pleading, everyone just kinda kept going. The Crystal Gems continuously moved back and forth, in and out of the temple and their rooms. Steven decided he'd had enough, and walked over to the temple gate, sitting down in front of it. When the door reopened and Pearl tried to exit, she almost tripped over the half-gem.

"Steven! What are you doing? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Yes, I can! Which is why I need to know what you're doing!"

"Ugh. Steven, I…"

Pearl was silent for a few seconds before deciding that Steven would almost definitely just keep bothering her and the other Gems until somebody explained what was going on.

"Listen, Steven, it's not very important, but… it's complicated. The simplest way of putting it is that a whole lot of Gem technology has been acting up in ways that… we can't quite explain. The malfunctions extend to the equipment here in the temple as well, so we've got our hands full trying to get everything in control."

"That sounds kind of important. How can I help?"

"Right now, Steven, you can help by staying out of our way and letting us finish this. You're a capable fighter and a valued member of this team, but… you couldn't know less about Gem technology, and to be honest… we both know what happens when you try to interfere with magic."

"Eh. True enough. But you have to tell me when you figure something out!"

"Of course, Steven."

Frisk was worried. Sans had been spending a whole lot of time in his secret lab recently, and he seemed to have less and less energy every day. It also heavily weighed on Frisk's conscience that they knew what was going on, but they couldn't tell Papyrus. They had to fight their own DETERMINATION to keep lying to the poor skeleton. It went entirely against their nature to keep secrets like this.

But they'd promised Sans they wouldn't tell anyone, and they couldn't go back on that. They knew how important promises were to Sans. They knew from experience, and they could never forgive themselves if they betrayed his trust.

But it still hurt. Even though Sans liked to be alone as he worked on the machine in his lab, Frisk decided they should visit him. All things considered, it seemed like a pretty bad idea. At any time, they could head down there with him when no one else but the two of them were in the entire Underground. Unfortunately, the time they'd chosen to visit the lab was the same time that many of the monsters, as well as their half-human ally Iram, were visiting Ebbot for old times' sake.

Which meant that they were risking Sans' secrecy by visiting him. Nonetheless, Frisk was determined, and nothing was going to stop them from doing something they set out to do.

As Frisk stepped down into Sans' lab, they loudly announced their presence. 99.9% of the time, Sans was always on his guard, but when he was working on his machine he could be surprised, and he _hated_ to be surprised.

"heya, kiddo. watcha doin' here?"

Frisk said that they were just there to check up on him, and to see if he was doing alright.

"welp, i'm fine. is that enough for ya?"

Frisk said it wasn't.

"no arguin' with ya, eh? well, guess that's to be expected from someone like you. howzit goin?"

Frisk said they were alright, but that they were worried about him. They said that he had been looking more and more tired each day.

"well, to be honest, i've _been_ more and more tired. i've been workin' myself **down to the bone** down here, but i can't quit right now. this hunka junk has been actin' up, and i can't be sure what it'll do if i leave it alone."

Frisk asked why he didn't just deactivate it.

"ya can't just deactivate this baby, it doesn't work like that. it needs to always be runnin', or else the circuits inside it fry."

Frisk said that sounded like an absolutely horrible design choice.

"welp, at the time this was built, we hadn't designed transformers yet, so we had to pump all the energy something would need _at any time_ into it _at all times._ so we also need a cooling system to constantly be active, or else… boom."

Suddenly, the large, rectangular machine in front of Sans began to beep rather consistently, and at a high pitch.

Frisk asked what it was.

"it says something's up, and i-"

The machine suddenly stopped and cooled down, all of the warning lights turning off.

"huh. that was easier than i'd expected. i was sure the timeline would be erased or something."

Frisk raised an eyebrow. ASRIEL hadn't been able to ERASE the timeline with them in it, so how could this machine do it? They weren't worried, not in the slightest bit, at least not about the timeline being destroyed. They were so determined that there was literally nothing they were afraid about killing _them,_ it was their friends they were worried about. They hadn't SAVED since they left the Underground, on Sans' request, so if someone died, the absolute best they could do is reset everything that had happened since they beat ASRIEL. And that was _not_ a good thing. But again, they'd made a promise to Sans.

And they would never break it, no matter what.

They asked Sans how the timeline could have been ERASED.

"well, it's complicated, but… long story short, that thing's a ticking time bomb. literally, a **time** bomb. it was originally meant to transfer a single person from one timeline to another, but it, uh, didn't work out that way. when it was first activated it literally took a chunk out of hotland. and, uh, it wasn't hotland at the time. as in, the machine opened up the earth and filled the area with lava. if it legitimately went off… the whole timeline could be ripped to shreds."

Frisk shuddered.

"yup. let's get outta here."

Frisk suddenly remembered that there were plenty of other monsters down here, and said as much.

"aha. i forgot too, they invited me to come with 'em. so… who's here, exactly."

Frisk said that everyone was. TORIEL, ASGORE, Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, Iram, Mettaton, and Napstablook had all come.

"wonderful. well, i guess we'd better join up with 'em. maybe they'll believe us if we say we were just followin' along. here, i know a shortcut to the underground' exit."

Frisk followed along, and, just as Sans had said, they found themselves in the Last Corridor almost instantly. Moving deeper into the Underground, it wasn't long before they caught up to their allies, who were on their way out. Moving together, the monsters moved together toward New Home. But when they reached the Underground's exit, something was… different.

Frisk was the first one to comment, wondering why they… weren't in the Ebbot range anymore. Mt Ebbot, somehow, was now laying in an open green field.

"that's… not supposed to happen."

Papyrus started freaking out.

"WHERE ARE WE? WHERE ARE THE REST OF THE MOUNTAINS!? MOUNTAINS DON'T USUALLY MOVE, DO THEY!"

Alphys replied.

"N-no, they don't! T-this is not usually s-something that h-happens!"

Undyne clenched her fists.

"THEN SOMEBODY MOVED THE WHOLE FREAKIN' MOUNTAIN! Yeah! This is gonna be _great!"_

TORIEL spoke up.

"I do not believe it was a _person_ that move the mountain, Undyne. It seems more reasonable that some magical force transported Ebbot away."

ASGORE rejoined.

"In that case, we must explain this. If we cannot, then we will surely be caught off-guard by what comes next."

Napstablook spoke next.

"if nobody minds, I've got a thought… what if-"

Mettaton interrupted him, shouting loudly.

"Wait! But what if we weren't moved at all? What if everything moved _but_ us?"

"that's what I was going to say…"

Iram scowled at the both of them.

"None of that makes sense. It's obvious that it's the mountain that moved, not everything else."

"W-well, a-according to R-relativity, t-they're b-both the s-same thing."

"Whatever. But seriously, we can't have gone too far. Humans have pretty detailed maps. Let's just find a settlement, and then we can find out way back to Violet City and Ebbot."

"welp, sounds like a plan. hey, frisk, iram?"

"Yeah?"

Frisk asked what Sans wanted.

"so, have humans… changed since we last saw em?"

Frisk said they had, wondered aloud if Sans had seen them since.

"i was pretty sure i had, but… those ones don't look quite like humans."

Sans pointed a bony finger at a group not standing far from them. The four figures stood there, watching from a distance.

ASGORE crossed his arms.


	2. Episode 2: First Impression

The group strolled quite casually to the monsters and the two looked each other over.

Sans stood there casually, as he always did. A short skeleton, under five feet tall, Sans had his hands in the pockets of the hoodie he constantly wore, and was light and almost jumpy on his slippered feet. A wide, almost impossible smile was plastered over his bony face, and his white, round pupils moved lazily around his empty, black eyesocket, looking over the other group.

Papyrus, Sans' brother, seemed less at ease, his smile contrasted by the confusion in his eyes. It was true that he liked pretty much everyone, but these people were like nothing he'd ever seen, and he didn't know quite what to make of it. He was much taller than his brother, over six feet to the top of his bare skull, and wearing an interesting "armor," his "Battle Body." The suit was rounded and wide, almost like he was wearing an oversized, plastic chestplate. Its shoulders were round, and the size of basketballs, making him look even more goofy than he would otherwise. His arms were cocked at a strange angle, his right leaning against the side of his torso as his left was at his waist, his hand pointed horizontally from his arm. The position seemed extremely awkward, but for some reason he never seemed to move around.

Undyne stood at the ready, at every inch of her nearly seven-foot frame. She held her arms lazily at her sides, but one should not mistake the pose for lack of preparation, as she was fully capable of leaping into battle in an instant should the need arise. She wore her casual clothing, a tanktop and sweat pants, and therefore didn't look extremely intimidating, but her scaled body, sharp teeth, and clenched fists gave her a generally dangerous look. Her fishlike body was an interesting one, with vestigial fins and gills on the sides of her skull and her neck, respectively, and one missing eye, covered in an eyepatch. She smiled, her sharp teeth showing prominently.

Alphys stood hunched over, a bit behind Undyne. She wore a simplistic white dress, reminiscent of the weeks on end she spent wearing nothing but lab coats. Despite her relief to finally leave the position of Royal Scientist, she found herself somehow missing the coats. She was a lizard monster, her yellow scales covering her entire body like a pitifully permeable suit of armor. She wore small, round glasses over her long snout, and smiled nervously at the newcomers.

TORIEL stood at a staggering seven feet and five inches tall, a goat monster with small, sharp-looking horns sprouting from her skull. She wore overly long robes, almost entirely covering her body, hands and legs included. She scowled judgmentally at the newcomers, not trusting them in the slightest. Her white fur blew softly in the wind as she warily eyed the other party. Her motherly instincts caused her to step in front of the young Frisk as a protective measure.

ASGORE, the king of monsters, stood with his arms crossed under his cloak, stepping forward to the head of the group. He stood somewhat taller than his wife TORIEL, at a staggering height of nearly eight feet, and over a foot wider at the shoulders. His massive cloak and cape covered his entire body other than his head, topped by a golden crown and two large, curving horns. He rose to his full height to appear as menacing as possible. In contrast to TORIEL, moving to protect her adopted child, ASGORE moved to stand guard over the entire group, as he had for years. Every enemy who had challenged monster-kind had been knocked down by his trident, and there had been _many_ enemies. He would not drop his guard now, not after everything he'd been through.

Mettaton stood there, his arms crossed as well. His robotic chassis, sleek and shiny, moved with a grace of movement that none of the other monsters possessed as he slowly shifted his weight back and forth in consternation. His long black hair covered his right eye, and his left was highlighted by a series of lines falling from it and to his cheek. He smiled softly, always seeming at ease. The most notable feature of his body was the large, glowing red heart at his core, on his lower torso. Then again, another notable feature was his great legs, which he always took pains to show off.

The little white ghost Napstablook floated by Mettaton's side. The two were cousins, and had been inseparable since the Barrier fell. Napstablook was a simple blob of energy, rounded at the top and with little stereotypical bumpy ghost legs at his base. His eyes were two massive ovals, covering nearly half his body, black circles with white oval pupils. A black line passed between his eyes, vertically splitting one half of his body. A slight frown covered his tiny mouth, as it always did. Napstablook was shattered, sad, or content, never happy. At the moment, he was just a bit confused.

Iram stood with his hand laying casually on the hilt of his sword at his waist. One of the two humans there, Iram had joined the monsters after they left Mt. Ebbot, supporting their quest for freedom, equal rights, and peace, in that order. His brown hair hung at nearly shoulder length, unkempt and wild. His right eyebrow was tilted in a classic suggestion of anger, but his left, somehow, was raised, as if in confusion. His dark skin was covered in small scars, most attained from his childhood of idiotically flailing around with a sword in an attempt to teach himself to duel. He wore rather average jeans and a light jacket, as well as an unusually ornate sheath for his sword, strapped to his belt. Of course, that sheath was also the reason why the rest of his outfit was so bare-bones, given that he'd spent thousands of dollars on it. He stood at a good six feet two inches high,

Finally, the Fallen Human, Frisk, stood in the center of the group of monsters, an appropriate position. Frisk was the common thread between all of them, the one that brought them together, the one that held them together, the one that _made_ them all stay together. Frisk made all of the monsters loved them, and then they made them all love each other. Frisk stood at around four feet and nine inches tall, just shorter than Sans and Alphys, and wore a blue and pink striped shirt, as well as standard blue jeans. Their brown hair fell behind their head and down to their neck, impossibly stiff. In their belt loop, they held a little brown stick. Their face was one of absolute, complete, indifference. Their eyes were closed so flatly that it was a wonder they could see, and their mouth could not possibly be more emotion-neutral. Despite everything they'd done, everything they'd been through, and everything that they'd fought for, to an outside observer, they simply couldn't care less.

The other group was a completely different story.

Garnet stood at nearly eight feet tall, her massive, black, rectangular afro adding another six inches at least to her already-imposing frame. Her body was mostly purple, one leg a dark shade and the other slightly brighter, her torso a sheer, bright pink, highlighted by a star. Her eyes were covered by a tinted visor, making her eyes impossible to see. Each of her palms held a gem, one a ruby and the other a sapphire. She stood with her arms held loosely at her sides, but had a tense, almost springlike air around her, as if at any movement she would suddenly explode into action. Her expression was impossible to gauge, her mouth a flat line and her eyes obscured. She stood at the forefront of her companions, making it clear that she was their leader.

One of her allies, Pearl, stood to her side, hands cocked worriedly to her sides. Her white skin was the same color as her namesake, and a shining white pearl was imbedded in her skull over her forehead. She had sharp, peach-colored hair jutting out from the back of her head, and glass ballet slippers on her feet. She wore a short turquoise skirt with a brighter blue ribbon around her waist and a yellow star near her collar. She was unnaturally tall and slender, with a long sharp nose that looked almost dagger-like. Her pose was both cautious and almost threatening toward the monsters.

Meanwhile, the shortest unusual figure was the purple-skinned Amethyst, her namesake gem partially visible, half-covered by her gray tanktop. Her lower body was covered by black tights, with pinkish stars on their knees, while her bright grey hair flowed from her head like a waterfall. She smiled expectantly, her one visible eye full of excitement, her other covered by her hair, much like Mettaton's. She stood with her arms crossed and her fists clenched, evidently looking forward to the prospect of a fight.

The last newcomer looked… actually pretty normal. A human child about Frisk's age, this kid wore nothing unusual, boasted a normal hair color, and acted just like you'd expect in such a situation, a little confused, a little exited, perhaps a little scared. He wore a red t-shirt with a gold star in the middle, a common thread among the outfits of these people, apparently. His average blue jeans and sneakers were similarly nondescript. The only strange thing was his hair, pretty big, almost an afro. Even then, he seemed like a pretty normal kid by moth standards.

ASGORE and Garnet stepped forward toward each other.

"Hello. Might I ask who you are?"

" **You first."**

"Fair enough. You can call me ASGORE. These are my friends and family behind me. Let's see, we've got my wife TORIEL, our child Frisk, Sans and Papyrus, two of the most interesting people you will ever meet, Undyne, the leader of our Royal Guard, and her wife Alphys."

"Y-you k-know, A-ASGORE, that's n-not t-technichally-"

"Hush, Alphys. It's pretty much official now. Either way, we have Mettaton and his cousin Napstablook, and Iram, a good friend of monster-kind. Now, we've introduced ourselves, who are you."

" **Alright. I'm Garnet, and these are the Crystal Gems. Pearl, Amethyst, Steven. What are you doing here and why is a mountain behind you."**

"To be completely frank, Garnet, I do not know. We have just ended our war with the humans and made peace, so we took a hike throughout the Underground for old times' sake. Unfortunately, when we exited the mountain, it was… not where we remembered it."

" **That sounds impossible."**

"you got that right, lady."

" **You're Sans, right?"**

"yup, that's me. sans the skeleton."

" **Alright. So, we're going to have to ask you a few questions. You see, we trust you, but-"**

Pearl interrupted, stepping forward toward the monsters.

"But we're also sort of responsible for the protection of Earth, _Garnet,_ and so we can't actually trust blindly! Now, you said that you just… finished a war with humans?"

"That's correct. We broke the Barrier and left, but the Humans immediately attacked us. We've managed to war against them without killing a soul, although some few casualties have been suffered on our side. Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"Yeah. How about we know just _what_ you are?"

"Well, we are the MONSTERS. With the exception of Frisk and Iram, of course."

"And _what_ are monsters?"

"Well… _we_ are. You seem to be getting worked up. Perhaps we could make camp and talk over a cup of tea."

"We don't have any time for that. You've just appeared out of nowhere, and we need answers!"

Frisk stepped forward and asked everyone to please calm down.

Steven, too, took a step closer to the Monsters.

"Yeah, everyone, this isn't the time for fighting!"

"You're right, Steven. Sorry. But who _are_ you people?"

"I was quite curious about the same thing. You see, I am the King of Monsters. It is my responsibility to look out for my subjects. Hopefully, I will not have any need to FIGHT you. I do not like fighting."

" **Neither do we."**

Amethyst made a snarky, chuckling noise.

"You sure had me tricked."

Pearl raised an eyebrow.

"Amethyst, this isn't the time."

"Yeah, yeah, OK."

ASGORE stepped forward.

"Well, then. Frankly, you're the first group that hasn't tried to capture or kill us the moment we entered sight. I'm glad."

" **Well… I'm sorry, but we're going to have to take you with us."**

"What?"

" **I mean, we need to get more information. A mountain doesn't just fall from the sky. And you've warred with humans before."**

"True, but none of them were killed. As it happens, Garnet, the only deaths in our wars were a few monsters."

" **Nonetheless, I-"**

"No. I am sorry, but I am responsible for the safety of my friends and subjects. I cannot allow our freedom to be compromised. We have worked too hard."

" **Well, I suppose that's reasonable, but-"**

"No, Garnet, please. We can't just let them get of the hook like this! I know you have a tendency to see the best in people, and sure, he looks… trustworthy, but that doesn't mean anything! We could be letting an insane megalomaniac loose!"

" **Pearl, please, let me handle this."**

"I would, but-"

"Please, allow me to restate my point. You are not going to take us in, no matter what you decide on. So I feel it would be wise to stop wasting your energy arguing with each other."

" **He has a point."**

"NO! He doesn't!"

Pearl reached for the gem on her forehead, pulling a magical spear from it and standing with it at the ready. Iram tightened his grip on his hilt, as Undyne took a step forward, closer to ASGORE.

"Hmph. Disarm now, or I will be forced to FIGHT you. I will not lose."

" **Stand down, King ASGORE."**

"Ah. So you decide to side with your wayward inferior. An unwise move, in my experience. But I suppose I have no right to lecture you on being a leader."

" **Indeed."**

"But I must warn you again, if you do not disarm or stand back, I will have no choice but to FIGHT."

" **Don't disarm, Pearl. He's too aggressive for my liking."**

Garnet lifted her fists as two magical gauntlets, massive fists, appeared on them.

"Fine. This is how it shall be?"

Frisk tugged on ASGORE's coat, begging for him to not FIGHT.

"My child… I am sorry, but sometimes fighting is the only option. I suppose you should know that as well as anyone."

Frisk nodded sadly.

Undyne summoned up one of her spears as Iram drew his sword, pointing it at the Gems.

"Stand back, you two. I don't need any help."

"You sure, ASGORE?"

"C'mon, 'Dyne, let's just do what he says. It's been a long time since I've seen him stomp someone."

"You've got a point, Iram."

The two of them kept their weapons drawn, however. With HUMANS and MONSTERS at each others' throats for so long, they knew not to drop their guard.

Amethyst silently summoned her whip as Steven begged with the gems not to fight.

"C'mon guys, we don't need to fight like this!"

Frisk loudly agreed with Steven. They said that fighting was for those who didn't understand peace.

ASGORE agreed completely. This didn't stop him from taking a step forward toward Pearl.

"I will warn you one more time. You have approximately three seconds to drop your weapon before I attack."

"I'm not going to just let you roam free, so no! I am-"

Before Pearl had a chance to finish her sentence, ASGORE's cloak flew outwards as his arm slammed into a horizontal position, suddenly holding a massive trident that was impossibly hidden inside the cloak.

Wordlessly, he pulled his arm backwards before stabbing forward, not giving the Crystal Gems any time to react.

Pearl was triple-impaled before she even realized what had happened. ASGORE frowned as she looked, uncomprehending, at her wounded chest. Suddenly, though, she exploded in a poof of white smoke, a single pearl falling to the ground.

ASGORE stepped backward in horror.

"W-what!? I did not mean to-"

Frisk, too, stepped back in shock. Garnet and Amethyst reacted merely by exploding into a combat stance, as Steven too summoned his weapon, a stylized round shield of pink energy.

Sans' eyes went black as he saw Pearl poof. He remembered all of it. All of the _lengths_ that they had to go to _,_ all the _uphill battles_ that they had to struggle through in order to complete _one objective._ All the _years_ they'd spent, all the monsters that had _died,_ just so they could prove the flower _wrong._ Just so they could prove that they didn't _have_ to kill anyone. And now, somehow, ASGORE's weapon had failed to do it's job, and, in one hit, it'd managed to kill.

And all of their struggles, all of their battles, _everything._ It was all gone.

"ASGORE! I thought that that weapon could not kill!"

"I am sorry, TORIEL! It should have not been able to do that!"

Undyne's spear disappeared as she stepped forward, closer to the Gems.

"My god, I'm so sorry! That weapon was built to be unable to kill! That shouldn't… that shouldn't have been possible!"

Napstablook just stared forward, a single tear falling down his ghostly body, before he disappeared into thin air.

Steven was confused.

"But you… didn't kill her. She's fine. She's fine, right? Right!?"

Garnet stepped cautiously over to Pearl's gem and picked it up off the ground, briefly inspecting it.

"Yes. She's fine."

ASGORE raised an eyebrow.

"So she is… alive?"

"Yes."

"Thank god!"

ASGORE immediately shoved his trident back into his cloak.

"That weapon was built to reduce anything it struck to 1 HP, but to be unable to kill them. I am glad it succeeded, but… how? She completely disappeared, save that stone."

Steven was glad to explain.

"She's a Gem! When Gems get hurt, they don't die like we do, they just… poof! And regenerate later. The only thing- never mind."

"Hm. That is… wondrous."

"It does indeed make you wish that MONSTERS had the same ability, does it not, ASGORE?"

"Indeed, TORIEL. I do indeed wish so. But I am glad that your friend is still alive."

" **Yes. So are we. I'm sorry about Pearl's actions. She is a good person, and usually a wise member of our team. Unfortunately, she isn't always… trusting."**

"She had the right not to be. We are strangers, and she knows nothing of us but that we have participated in war. Now, I need to ask. Where are we?"

" **This is Southern Nigeria."**

"And where is that?"

" **Eastern Africa."**

"And what is Africa?"

" **My god. You really aren't from around here. We're on Earth, if that helps."**

"I do know where that is, thankfully. We are from Earth as well. I am not sure how we got here, though…"

" **Nor are we."**

"uh… i am."

"What was that, Sans?"

"so, hey, uh… let me introduce myself real quick. name's sans. sans the skeleton. and i'm not gonna lie… this is kinda my bad."

Garnet frowned a bit.

" **And why is** _ **that?"**_

"so, it's a long story. want to… get somethin' to eat?"

" **We don't eat."**

"yeah, neither do we."

Frisk noted that they _did_ eat. Steven nodded, making evident his enthusiasm for the course of action.

Iram spoke up.

"So how about we stop _talking about it_ and go get some bloody food, 'cause I haven't eaten in like six hours and I'm pissed."

Steven apparently agreed.

"Yeah! C'mon guys, let's eat!"

Amethyst crossed her arms, her face a strange scowl, a combination of exited and impatient.

"That seems like a good idea, dudes! Let's do it!"

Mettaton suddenly interjected himself into the situation.

"I agree, darlings, it would actually be advisable for me to find a wall socket before I run out of power. Sound wise?"

ASGORE slowly nodded his head. He had been thinking.

"I believe it would be a wise course of action to at least arrive in some more begin location, rather than standing around her on the verge of fighting each other at all times."

" **Alright. It does seem like a good idea to have Pearl wake up somewhere other than here. Let's go."**

Frisk smiled as, after a few more minutes of discussion, the monsters moved off, following the Crystal Gems to a portal not far from Ebbot's new location. They had actually been looking forward to staving off what seemed like inevitable conflict, but in the end they hadn't even needed to, which was always better. In fact, it seemed like the very mention of _food_ had been what had really brought the mood up and the aggression down. It was nice that for once, they didn't have to be the mediator.

Steven, too, breathed a sigh of relief as he realized with a sense of finality that the fight wouldn't get worse than it already was. He too, was tied of keeping conflicts from spiraling out of control like they were apt to do, and so he was glad that for once, they'd have a break.

Sans was sweating. He was actually nervous about this situation. He had a lot of explaining to do to a lot of people, and he was _not_ looking forward to it. On the contrary, he almost wished he hadn't mentioned it, but it was something that everyone _needed_ to know. He spaced out as the Gems explained the teleporter, its function, and its destination, wondering how he was going to tell everyone that he might have permanently trapped them away from all the other monsters, and to the Gems that he and his friends might have become a permanent fixture of their world.

The monsters and Gems evaporated into light and beamed outward, heading forward to the next chapter in the story of the World.


	3. Episode 3: Beginningame

It was only a few minutes later that the Monsters and Gems were in the Crystal Gems' Beach House, located just outside the Gems' home of Beach City. Most of the Monsters and Gems were now eating Hot Pockets and donuts, silently chowing down on whatever food they could procure from the Steven's fridge. The exceptions were the food-hating Pearl and the skelebros, who couldn't eat food thanks to their lack of stomachs. Oh, also Napstablook and Mettaton. Ghosts and robots don't eat very much food, as a general rule.

Other than despising human food, there was a second reason Pearl wasn't enjoying a meal with the others, that being that she was fuming in her room. She was furious, humiliated, and confused. She simply didn't understand why Garnet was being so trusting, even _after_ these mysterious newcomers had poofed her with hardly a bit of provocation. She sat atop one of the multiple pillars of water that made up her individual room in the Gem Temple, trying her best to calm down, but failing. These monsters had appeared out of nowhere, bringing a literal mountain with them. All the gem technology on _earth_ had malfunctioned when they did so, and they'd even confessed to having warred with humans in the past, and yet _here they were,_ in the middle of Beach City, capable at any time of turning on them and dealing tremendous damage to the humans AND the Gems.

Their leader was apparently capable of poofing her in one hit, so if the others were anywhere near that power level, and if the Gems didn't have the chance to fuse, then fighting all ten of them would be certain defeat. Presuming that was their intention, every Gem on earth save Peridot and Lapis could be shattered in a matter of seconds, minutes at the most. After a disaster like that, there would _be_ no recovery. But evidently Garnet had been put off by Pearl's attitude, though, and now it seemed like she was completely ignoring her.

Pearl sighed. She was worried. And that was _exactly_ why she couldn't keep hiding. If the monsters attacked, they needed Alexandrite as quickly as possible, and that meant she had to be out there with the rest of them. She steeled herself and left her room.

Garnet, meanwhile, was not nearly as complacent as Pearl thought she was. Though she appeared absorbed in the food she was eating, in reality, she had a watchful eye on all ten of the newcomers, watching for the slightest hint of aggression. Unlike Amethyst, she hadn't once turned her back to them once, and she was under no illusion that she had a reason to trust them. Unfortunately, she couldn't back down on this either. She was the leader of the Crystal Gems, and she couldn't allow Pearl's insubordination to be immediately accepted. It was already clear that Amethyst was tugging on the reigns of her leadership, and Garnet didn't want anything to give her any more reason to rebel. She wasn't very verbose, of course, but sheer experience had proven that the combined wisdom and intelligence of Sapphire and Ruby was exactly what the Crystal Gems needed.

Unfortunately, she wasn't sure of that herself at the moment. She was worried about Pearl. Fortunately, though, she didn't have to worry much longer, as Pearl stepped out of her room, putting on a weak smile.

"Hi. I'm back."

" **Nice to see you."**

"Yeah."

Frisk nodded to her, the look on their face neutral, but friendly. They had mastered the art of showing their intentions in their facial features, but never giving away their emotions. Emotions were a weakness. They were a _symbol._ They couldn't be weak, not ever. They were unbreakable, physically and mentally. They weren't a rock, they were the individual atoms that held that rock together, impermeable and indestructible. So they didn't smile, and they didn't frown. They didn't laugh, and they didn't cry. They just stood, never moving and never _seeming_ to struggle or resist, yet always putting their all into everything they did. They never hurt anyone, yet they always won fights. They never took hits, but they never seemed to dodge. They just survived, they soldiered through. They were the incarnation of mercy, of peace, of pacifism. And because of that, they didn't smile.

They just looked.

Pearl was slightly disconcerted with the stare, but awkwardly staggers over to Garnet and sits by her, wrapping her arm around the larger gem's shoulder. She hoped that the monsters didn't know about fusion, and therefore didn't recognize the proximity as a threat. The monsters obviously didn't.

ASGORE sipped almost daintily from a teacup full of coffee as he looked at Pearl. It took him almost exactly ten seconds from the moment he caught sight of her to suddenly choke on his drink, snorting coffee out of his nose.

"My lord! You're the gem I attacked earlier! Thank god you're alright, I heard that you regenerated, but I could hardly believe it! I am so sorry!"

" **It's alright."**

"Y-yeah. It's OK, I guess. You may have tried to kill me, but I'm fine now, so-"

"Oh, no! You misunderstood my intentions. This trident of mine is built with the intention of defeating any opponent in one strike, but is supposed to be incapable of killing them. I suppose that it caused you to… regenerate? Is that the term?"

"Yes. It is. Heh."

Pearl didn't believe him. But it reassured her at least somewhat that if Garnet and Amethyst believed him, that meant they weren't harboring someone they _knew_ was a killer.

Sans suddenly got to his feet, coughing loudly to get everyone's attention.

"hey, uh, hey! could everybody listen up for a second!"

ASGORE silenced the monsters with a gesture as Garnet motioned for the Gems too to remain quiet.

" **What is it, Sans?"**

"ok, first off, that ain't gonna work. i'm gonna need you guys to be quiet, alright? i'm gonna tell my story, and the second somebody peeps, i'm outta here, get me?"

Steven almost replied, but quieted himself moments before he did.

"good. alright, so somethin' i said before, and somethin' i figure none'a you have forgotten is this; all this is my fault. so, it's a long story, and goes way back. asgore, tori, you guys remember a fella named w. d. gaster? nope? i didn't think so. that's 'cause he never existed. long story short, he was the royal scientist before alphie came around, and he was a genius. i worked for him for a while. now, like i said, this was a real smart cookie, and everybody was impressed by his work. flabbergastered, even."

Steven and Amethyst chuckled and everyone else groaned. But no one spoke.

"so gast did a lotta good work, but he always wanted more. he wanted to be the greatest explorer of all time. he wanted to be the one to do something that no one ever had before, and that no one would be able to figure out for a thousand years after he did it. and he finally figured it out. he was gonna be the person to prove multiverse theory and travel to another universe, another timeline, an au, whatever you want to call it. so he started buildin' this machine, and he figured it'd be great. just a little box lookin' doodad, nothin' special. he called it the SWAP."

Sans chuckled ironically.

"he never did quite figure out how appropriate that name was. not until it was too late, anyway. this crazy bastard wasn't about to stop when that box of his didn't work. he decided it needed more power, and so he built the CORE. the whole damn thing, just to power this machine. it was crazy. i was helpin' him out the whole time, but i kept thinkin', man, this guy's crazy. and he _was._ he hooked up the whole CORE to this little box, stepped into it, flipped the switch, and _nothin' happened._ so he kept working, more and more, until he built _another_ machine. this one… _actually_ went to an alternate universe. it was called the VOID. problem is, it was empty, and he didn't want an empty universe. he figured that maybe if he could get dark matter from the void, that it'd be enough to power that box. that stupid, stupid box. he went in, and didn't come out. in fact, he didn't come out _so hard_ that he somehow… just ceased to exist. i was there when it happened. that's why i remember, but… no one else did. i walked outside his lab and all of a sudden, nobody remembered him. it was like he never existed. i dunno how it works. i've studied a lot of physics, quantum mechanics, temporal theories, and everything i can find on multiverse theory, but i never figured it out. heh heh heh. well, anyway, i figured that it was that box's fault. so i kicked it. with lasers."

Frisk cringed inside. Alphys cringed inside.

"yeah, so, uh, it started actin' up, and i tried to keep the sucker cooled, but recently, frisk and i… well, i didn't do my job too well. it booted up and apparently… we're in… another timeline now? i dunno how it didn't work for gast, and yet it worked for us, but it did. and now…"

Sans' smile faltered a bit. He was searching for words.

"well, in other words… we're not just somewhere else on earth. we're in another universe entirely. in other words… we're not leaving."

Most of the humans, monsters, and Gems arrayed there gasped, as Pearl almost fainted, although she was incapable of doing so. Mettaton's reaction, however, was a bit less neutral in mood.

He got to his feet, slamming his fist furiously on the table, cracking it.

"What are you _talking_ about, Sans!?"

"welp, that's my cue. told ya i was leavin' when ya talked."

"You had _better_ leave!"

Mettaton leaped at Sans, swinging a kick in the skeleton's direction. Sans didn't even shrug as he disappeared into thin air.

Mettaton landed on one hand and one leg, absolutely livid.

"That pathetic, worthless, useless, DISGUSTING skeleton! How dare he!? How _dare_ he!? Now we're separated from the rest of monster-kind, who are trapped alone without _any_ of their leaders! ANY of them! On top of that, if we can't get back, I'll never see my adoring fans again, and they'll never see me! Fuku, Burgerpants, the dummies, even Muffet! We're separated forever! This is ABSURD!"

Alphys was trembling.

"C-c-calm down, M-mettaton! There was n-nothing he could have done! And d-don't worry, w-we'll fix the m-machine and get back home, n-no problem!"

"You had BETTER, if he ever wants to be _anywhere_ near any of _us_ again. Because I _refuse_ to look at his ugly face unless we're back home."

"A-a-alright."

At this, everyone split up into different groups, each going their separate ways. Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst left the kitchen together, heading into Garnet's room. TORIEL, Papyrus, and ASGORE slipped out the back, heading to the beach, as Alphys moved out onto the front porch, hounded by Mettaton, and followed by Napstablook, who was trying to calm his cousin down. Undyne and Iram both stepped outside, jumping up to the roof and observing the area.

Frisk and Steven, meanwhile, stayed in the kitchen. Steven smiled somewhat shyly at Frisk.

"Hey. That was crazy, huh?"

Frisk agreed. They said that Mettaton wasn't usually like that.

"I hope not. He seemed _really_ angry."

Frisk nodded. They said that Mettaton really cared about the Underground and the people in it, more than anyone. They also hinted that he might have had a romantic involvement with someone back home.

"Gosh, I know what _that's_ like. Or, I don't, but I can relate."

Frisk asked Steven what he thought they should do.

"Well, I guess you're gonna have to live here in Beach City! I mean, if Pearl isn't right. You guys don't want to hurt anybody, right?"

Frisk nodded and said that none of them wanted to hurt anyone. Except Mettaton, he kinda wanted to hurt Sans. But they were also sure that Mettaton would calm down soon.

"Well, that's good. Who _are_ you people."

Frisk smiled. Once, two races ruled over earth. HUMANS and MONSTERS…

Meanwhile, Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet deliberated.

"See? This proves what I was saying! They can't even control themselves."

"I mean, Pearl, technically I would have been just as mad if I had found out I could never go back to Earth or see any of you again."

" **She's right, Pearl."**

"Well, I wouldn't! Because I've got self-control! They don't! They're insane!"

" **Insanity and temporary anger aren't the same thing."**

"The first thing they EVER did when they saw us was poof me!"

"That _is_ true."

"Exactly!"

" **No, the first thing they tried to do was have a civilized conversation. The first thing** _ **you**_ **did was draw your weapon on them. And the king gave you full warning."**

"Yes, and I gave _him_ ample warning! They can't just DO that!"

" **Did you seriously think they would just come with us without any reason other than that we don't trust them?"**

"Yes!"

"Seriously, Pearl? Would _you_ have come with _them_ if you'd stepped out of your room into that mountain of theirs?"

"No. But I wouldn't have attacked them."

" **True enough. Perhaps they weren't entirely in the right. But neither were you."**

"Can you at least _chill out_ some? Because they've only done their best to be friendly so far."

" **Indeed. We don't ask that you drop your guard, or even that you trust them. We just ask that you keep doing what you have been doing. Don't be hostile."**

"… Fine."

" **Thank you."**

Iram and Undyne were on the roof, talking.

"So, what do you think, 'Dyne?"

"I think I'm thanking any god I can think of that this many of us were together when this happened."

"No kidding, actually. I mean, if you'd gotten separated from Alphys…"

"Don't go there, Iram."

"Alright. Hey, what do you see out there?"

"The same thing you do? I mean, houses. Sand. A mountain. A statue. Ocean. More ocean. Even more ocean."

"Wait, a statue?"

"Hah. See, that's your problem, Iram. You never look up."

Iram did so.

"Whoah! That's crazy. I guess this is why you're still the leader and I'm the subordinate, right?"

"I can't tell if you're salty about me being your boss or serious because you're surprised you didn't see the statue."

"Eh. Both. But really, what do we _do?"_

"You mean… out here?"

"Yeah. I mean, come on! We're in another bloody universe! We've got no obvious way to get back, and we're trapped with a bunch of people who don't seem to _like_ us all that much. See, this is bad. And so I figure the last two members of the Royal Guard have gotta figure something out so we don't all _die,_ eh?"

"First off, Papyrus exists. Second, I'm _sure_ Alphys can fix that "damn box." Third, you're right. We need a plan. And I think we're probably thinking of the same thing, right?"

"Kick some ass to prove a point?"

"Heck yeah."

They looked down at Alphys, Mettaton, and Napstablook who were arguing loudly as they walked off down the beach. Meanwhile, a ways away, but approaching quickly, was a humanoid shape walking toward the Beach House, whistling.

It came closer… it came closer… _she_ came closer. Stepping up the stairs leading to the house, she caught a glimpse of the two figures on top of the roof.

"Hello?"

She scrambled up the wall, using a few cracks and a windowsill to get onto the roof. The hilt of her sword flashed as she got onto the building.

"Who are _you two?"_


	4. Episode 4: Party In Here

Sans was deep under the Lab, his arms crossed, looking around at the darkness surrounding him. His perpetual smile was wavering, his eyes half-closed, he waited for the inevitable. Sure enough, as he had predicted, the telltale sounds of the lowering elevator became audible within just a few minutes of him arriving.

"heya, alphys."

"Hi, Sans."

The reptilian scientist walked up to Sans, her posture even more stooped than usual. There was fear in her eyes, and she wavered before finally gathering her courage and speaking.

"That was bad, Sans."

"this is bad. present tense."

"No. Not just that we're... s-stuck here. That... Mettaton, he..."

"he was furious. he had the right to be."

"He was trying to k-kill you. He's never been that mad before."

"i know. but hey, it makes sense. y'know, i _did_ kinda trap him in another universe, far from everyone he truly cares about. uh, almost everyone. no offense to you and napsta."

"None taken. D-don't lowball him, by the way. He cares about all of us."

"yeah? well i betcha he doesn't care too much about me. 'least not if you're comparing me to the hundreds of monsters he left behind."

"That's true. But... Sans, we need your help. That box you were talking about... the machine? Built by... what did you say his name was?"

"gaster. w. d. gaster."

"Right. Gaster. Well... can't we fix it?"

"you sure it'd be worth the risk? that thing could blow."

"Yes. It also might _not._ And if it doesn't, we can get out of here. Right now, there's nothing more important than getting home before something happens to the rest of the monsters while we're gone. Whatever you want to say about Mettaton, he was right about one thing. They _are_ trapped out there, without any leaders to speak of."

"and flowery trashbags is still out there with them."

"At least call him by his name, Sans. Flowey works, so does ASRIEL. He has a condition, he needs help, not insults."

"after the stunt he pulled with grillby and shyren? i don't think he's deserving of it."

"Ugh. Regardless of what you think of him, and what _I_ think of him, we can agree on one thing; he's _dangerous._ So we've got to get back."

"yup. but we'll probably-"

"One step ahead of you. I talked to the Crystal Gems, they've got someone who can help."

"is that what they're called?"

"The Crystal Gems? Yeah. Weren't you there when they told us?"

"probably, but i was also focusing on papyrus at the time. he was pretty shaken up after the king stabbed the white one."

"Pearl. Weren't you paying _any_ attention?"

"eh. i know the leader's name. that's enough."

"That's fair. Nevertheless, as I said, we've got tech support. A Gem named Peridot. She's a ways away from here, but their warp pads can bring us straight there."

"a'ight. i suppose i can do that."

"Mettaton is... keeping to himself at the moment. We need to come back to their temple and talk to Garnet and Pearl. Frisk's been ambasadoring, but..."

"tough to get the job done without them ever seeing us one-on-one, right? shouldn't they be talking to the king?"

"ASGORE may be a great leader, but he's far from a diplomat. He tried to talk to them. He... didn't accomplish much."

"how'd ya know i'd be here, by the way?"

"I don't know. Just a hunch. You remember how we used to come down here, Sans? Before... before it all went bad?"

"yeah. didn't mention it before, so as to not confuse everybody, but you worked for gaster too."

"I guessed. Back then, did we..."

"no. it was never like that. good thing, too. i might resent gast even more than i do now if we had."

"... I see. So... do you want to go, Sans? We really do need to get h- back."

"right. c'mon. i just found this great shortcut."

Iram and Undyne stared at Connie, surprised at her sudden appearance. Undyne, as always, was the first to speak, letting out an exclamation as the dark-skinned human made her way onto the roof and stood before them, her hand on the hilt of the massive sword on her back.

"Hey! Who are _you!"_

"You're on Steven's roof! How can you expect me to identify myself first!?"

Undyne raised an eyebrow, thinking for a moment.

"Good point. I'm Undyne. Captain of King ASGORE's Royal Guard."

"I have no idea what that means."

Iram chuckled.

"You've got no reason to. We just kind of... er... popped into your universe. It's a long story. "

"You did _what?!"_

"Seriously, kid, it's a long story. We're not fixing to explain it."

"Well I'd better get some explanation! How do I know you're not gems from Homeworld? Or something else... dangerous?"

"Homeworld?"

Undyne's eyes lit up suddenly in excitement.

"Homeworld? Does that mean that those gems... are _aliens!?"_

"Um... yes?"

Iram put his fingers to his head, blowing them away with a mock explosion noise.

"Worldview... shattered."

"hapsta, please! you know as well as I do that sans wasn't trying to hurt anyone!"

"And you know as well as anyone that that's not my _name_ anymore, Blooky! Call me Mettaton like everyone else!"

"you'd think that you wouldn't mind so much."

"I'm sorry, but I'm a little on _edge_ right now!"

"I get it, hap-... mettaton. you're not happy. you're kinda the opposite. I'm upset too. we all are. but you can't keep being angry about what's happened. you have to be proactive."

"Proactive _how,_ Blooky? We're trapped here until Alphys fixes that damn machine."

Despite the bitterness that stained Mettaton's voice, he didn't drop the constant running joke he'd been using since he inhabited his robotic body, a pathological mispronunciation of Alphys' name, referring to her as "Al-FEES" rather than "Al-FIS." The contrast between the incongruity of the pronunciation and the shuddering rage he was experiencing was almost comedic, though no one present saw it that way.

"... what do you like to do, mettaton? do something that'll make you happy."

"What I like to do? I like helping people, Blooky. Although, to be fair, I suppose airing an episode of MTT Live would be nice."

Napstablook dared a tiny smile at the softening of Mettaton's mood, only for his hope to be once again shattered moments later.

"But we don't have any infrastructure, and all my fans are in _another bloody dimension,_ so I suppose I might not be able to do that any time soon!"

"maybe you can! i mean, they have a tv."

"And you think I can simply walk into a broadcasting station and interject myself?"

"you're mettaton, of course you can."

"..."

"SO WHAT IS YOUR PLAN, YOUR MAJESTY?"

Papyrus leaned against the cliff nearby the Beach House, looking at a quiet and somber TORIEL and ASGORE. His teeth were chattering nervously in excitement and worry.

"I do not know quite yet. Apparently, with the help of this gem Peridot, Sans and Alphys should be able to repair the machine and get us back home. I have full confidence in them. And yet, at the same time, we still need... contingencies."

TORIEL frowned. "Yes. As much as I hate to say it, Sans and Alphys may fail. And if they do, we need to know... what to _do."_

"WELL, IT SEEMS PRETTY OBVIOUS THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS FIGURING OUT WHERE TO STAY. THIS PLACE IS TOO SMALL, AND IF I DIDN'T KNOW BETTER, I'D SAY THAT PEARL DOESN'T LIKE US VERY MUCH."

"Agreed, Papyrus. People in this world don't seem very receptive of monsters, which means we probably can't just buy a home. Besides, we don't have much money on us right now."

"Right... speaking of that, how much _do_ we have? I've got 750 GOLD."

"I HAVE 455."

"Just 2700. We're going to really need to scrimp and save if we want to get through this without trouble. But perhaps we'll leave soon anyway and it won't be a problem."

"OF COURSE! DOCTOR ALPHYS IS A GENIUS! SURELY SHE'LL HAVE US OUT OF HERE IN NO TIME!"

ASGORE smiled weakly, while TORIEL simply let out a quiet frown. While neither of them said it, neither of them honestly believed that they'd be gone any time soon."

 **"Peridot! Could you come down here?"**

Garnet was standing next to the completely wrecked and rebuilt husk of what was once an average, everyday barn, shouting up at what was evidently a pickup truck shoved into its wall. Sitting atop it were two more gems, Lapis Lazuli and the aforementioned Peridot.

The general appearance of the barn was completely indescribable, nearly surrealist in nature. Besides the pickup truck, there was a bicycle buried in the yard next to its tires, also buried and poking slightly out of the ground. A couch was sitting on the roof, next to an _entire silo_ that was lying in the wall at a tilt. From the silo came several pipes, pumping water slowly into a pool in front of the barn, and from which were attached lines of laundry. Behind the barn was a huge field of assorted crops and what appeared to be some sort of spacecraft. To its far right side was a completely inexplicable tent, flying the Canadian flag for some reason.

 _"Garnet, is that you!"_

The voice that came down from the pickup truck was high-pitched and grating, making it nearly impossible to do so much as believe it was the real voice of the owner. That is, until you actually _saw_ her.

 **"Yes, it's me, Peridot. Do you have a minute?"**

 _"Uh, sure! I'll be right down! Lazuli, you OK staying up here?"_

"Yes. I'm fine."

Lapis Lazuli's voice could only be described in one word. Serene. In a way that could not have possibly contrasted with Peridot's virtual squealing of a voice, Lapis' speech immediately conjured up thoughts of slowly flowing streams, a flat ocean at night, or the wind blowing softly through trees.

That is, if they were streams, oceans, and trees that simply didn't give a damn about anything. Lapis didn't even seem to put any effort into _speech._ She was like a female version of Sans that put a lot less effort into meming all the time.

Peridot, on the other hand...

The green-tinted Gem hopped down from the truck, landing on the ground with what was evidently supposed to be an epic, anime-esque three-point landing, but ended up resulting in a slow forward roll, something that a cat might do to avoid embarrassment. She wore a green jumpsuit, covering her torso, lower arms, and legs. In the exact center of her chest was a stylized yellow diamond shape, acting as the centerpiece of the outfit. Of course, most attention immediately went not to her torso and below, but to her hair, a huge, triangular poff that somehow, miraculously, stayed standing up all the time. She wore a visor identical to Garnet's, but transluscent, showing off both her dark green eyes and the half-circle peridot gem sitting on her forehead.

She grinned sheepishly. Given that Garnet was the only one who had seen her evident failure at a cool landing, Peridot didn't mind too much. At least Lapis hadn't been watching.

 _"What is it, Garnet?"_

 **"It's a long story. I'll leave the exposition to those involved, but to make a long story short, we need your technichal expertise."**

 _"Wow! A totally unprecedented situation! You guys have programmed yourselves into a corner, and you need the help of little old_ me _to get you out of it! I never would have expected!"_

Peridot's voice reeked with good-natured sarcasm, and Garnet let out a short chuckle for the sake of being polite.

 **"Actually, it wasn't us this time."**

 _"Uh... then who?"_

 **"Aliens."**

 _"You're joking me."_

 **"Actually, I am. They're extra-dimensional travelers. And they need our help to get back home."**

Peridot raised an eyebrow impossibly high.

 _"That's completely ridiculous. How could they possibly be from another dimension. Listen, Garnet, they're just pulling the wool over your eyes."_

 **"** _ **You**_ **haven't met them. Besides, I know how this is going to turn out.** _ **Future vision."**_

 _"Riiight. I thought you saw every possible future that you can achieve. How could you know exactly what's going to happen?"_

 **"Right now, there's only one possible future."**

 _"Oh. I see. Well, that's encouraging. When can I meet these guys?"_

 **"They're one short warp away."**

 _"Well..."_ Peridot sheepishly raised a thumb's-up at Garnet. _"I'm looking forward to it. Let's head out."_

 **"Right."**

Garnet repeated the gesture, smiling slightly.

"So let me get this straight... you guys lived inside a mountain for thousands of years... broke out and were immediately attacked by humans... fought _them_ for years... and then suddenly showed up here with no explanation?"

Connie was sitting on top of the roof nearly an hour later, her hand still resting on the hilt of her sword. Iram could respect that. Not only had she not _fallen asleep_ through all of this endless exposition, but she'd also stayed on her guard this whole time. He spoke.

"Well, that's mostly right. _I_ never lived down there, myself. I mean, obviously. I didn't even know Ebbot was a thing until the Monsters met me after they broke the Barrier."

Undyne interrupted cheerfully.

"Also, _I_ personally only lived underground for about two hundred years."

"Oh. So wow. I didn't mean you guys had _personally_ been down there for thousands of years. How long do you guys live, anyway?"

Iram scratched his head. "I guess I live about how long normal humans do? Like, if nothing kills me, I'll probably make it to my eighties?"

Undyne laughed. "I think she was referring to us monsters, pal."

"I got that."

"Didn't seem like it. Anyway, it varies greatly. I'll probably live to be six hundred years old or so. The royal family is immortal as long as they don't have kids. If they do, they last about as long as I do. The skeletons don't have a strict time limit, as far as I know. Alphys'll probably hit... I dunno... Three, four hundred?"

Undyne's face clouded slightly as she made this final observation, realizing for sure that she'd most likely outlive her partner. It wasn't like she didn't already _know_ that, she just didn't really like to think about it.

"Huh. Wow. So you're not quite gems, but I guess you come close."

Iram suddenly thought of something.

"Hey. You _are_ a human, right? I mean, it can definitely sometimes be hard to tell."

"Oh yeah. I'm Connie, by the way."

"One more thing. You mind if I can see that blade of yours? Just the hilt's impressive."

"Yes, I definitely mind. I can't really let anyone else handle this."

"I didn't mean _hold_ it. I just meant _see_ it. Like, can you literally draw it?"

"Yeah, seriously. That thing is totally badass."

"Well... I don't see why not..."

Connie drew her hands to the hilt, drawing a massive, pink, single-edged blade made of some unidentifiable gem material. The sword was enormous, nearly Connie's own height, and yet she held it with a passable imitation of ease.

"Christos. I think you might want to scale down there a bit, kid."

"Seriously. That thing's enormous. Like, really, really big."

Iram nodded in agreement.

"That's right. No way you can use that. Sure as hell, no human could wield a sword like that and still be efficient. Certainly not just some little kid."

 _ **"Could you repeat that?"**_


	5. Episode 5: Nice Knowing You

The warp pad lit up and Peridot and Garnet stepped out of the void and onto the pad, standing before a grinning Sans and a nervous-looking Alphys.

 _"So these are the monsters you were talking about?"_

"That's right."

Sans chuckled ominously. "you can talk directly to us y'know."

Peridot turned. _"Oh. Sorry. I wasn't thinking."_

Alphys offered a weak smile. "It's a-alright. We understand not being quite... c-comfortable with something so different. We all felt the s-same way."

 _"Oh. Right. Well, um... you two are the scientists?"_

The three of them were temporarily distracted by the warp pad reactivating. They turned to see Garnet waving goodbye before disappearing into a beam of light.

"i guess she figured you didn't need our help. welp, wanna see the box?"

 _"Oh, the one that brought you here, right? Of course. Anything I can do to help someone get... home."_

Alphys noticed Peridot's pause, her thoughtful expression, her... misty eyes? Sans didn't notice, or, if he did, he didn't care enough to give it a second thought.

"T-that's right. C-come on. It's this way."

Peridot nodded, and followed Sans and Alphys as they turned and began the short walk from the pad to Ebbot, and from there to Snowdin.

Meanwhile, Iram and Undyne had both taken an involuntary step back. Or... several. Connie's sudden anger had left them both surprised, but now it was obvious she was making pains to calm down, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths.

"I'm sorry about that. I've just had a lot of people look down at me because I'm a human. The only way to keep it from getting to me is to convince myself that only the absolute worst people in the world would think that. But I guess you're not that, right?"

Iram nodded. "I can actually really feel where you're coming from, mate. It ain't fun when people look down on you for what you are. But then again, I guess _all of us_ can feel that sometimes."

Connie scratched the back of her neck.

"Yeah. I've _seen_ Steven ridiculed because he's half-gem. Oh, you met Steven, right?"

"M'hm. We saw him."

"Well, where is he?"

Iram looked to Undyne for an answer.

"He's talking to Frisk, I think."

"Who's Frisk?"

Iram smiled, happier than anyone to tell this story. Undyne, sensing his intentions, stepped to his side, speaking first.

"Allow us to tell you the ancient story of my people."

Iram began. "Once, long ago, there were HUMANS and MONSTERS."

And the moment Undyne and Iram began telling the story of UNDERTALE, Frisk, directly beneath them, finished. Steven's eyes reflected stars, a telltale sign of his entrancement.

"Wow. All that really happened?"

Frisk brightened. They said that it had.

"Wow. That's so much cooler than anything we've ever done."

Frisk chuckled and shook their head. They asked Steven to tell him what they had done.

"Wait, really, you want to know?"

They nodded. They said that Steven owed them the story of his people, since they had told him theirs. Steven's grin was enormous.

"Sure, I'll tell you! It starts with a story I like to call... the ballad of Rose and Greg."

At that, Steven paused. Frisk clasped their hands together and placed them on the table before them, inching their face just barely closer to Steven's, looking carefully. Steven didn't say anything for another moment, and Frisk told him that they definitely cared to hear his story. His eyes brightened again, and he spoke up. Or, uh, he sang up.

To the tune of mysterious music that began playing in the air, along with Steven's knuckles rapping on his table, he began singing.

And he went on in this great song that was just vague enough to apply to other situations other than his story about Rose Quartz and Greg Universe and yet specific enough that it worked to actually tell a legitimate story. He'd possibly come up with it on the spot, although that was unlikely. Despite the fact that the author of this story was too lazy and not musically talented enough to WRITE this great song, you got the idea, so that's cool.

Mettaton was pacing back and forth down the beach, Amethyst watching him from a nearby rock. She somehow found the pointless movement entrancing, and his anger, which he spared no expense to show at every opportunity, amusing. His cousin still nervously floated behind him, worried.

The robot aggressively talked to himself, theorizing.

"I could just walk into a broadcasting center and get myself on air, but then the next news would probably be "rogue robot hijacks television channels." So I'd need to get my own show. But that could take YEARS, despite how glamorous I am. So, naturally, I need some sort of fast track. But there AREN'T any fast tracks! I could get backed episodes from Dr. Alphys' lab and release them on video... but then I wouldn't be operating live, and that's in the NAME OF THE SHOW! Damn it, there MUST be a way to- "

"Hey, maybe there is!"

Amethyst hopped off of her rock and walked over to Mettaton, cheekily offering a handshake, which the robot tellingly refused.

"Why hello, darling. What's your deal?"

Amethyst gave him a sideways glance as Napstablook decided that there was no place for him in this conversation and disappeared into thin air.

"Well, I'm trying to help you."

Mettaton managed to stay cold and aloof for a grand total of four seconds.

"GOOD GOD WHAT IS IT?"

Amethyst leaned backwards away from Mettaton's sudden outburst, more unnerved by his eagerness than his disrespect.

"Well, um, ok. So, back in the forties, when TV was first becoming a thing, Sardonyx already had this real love for the spotlight, and she was really wishing to be on the silver screen."

"Er, if you don't mind me asking, who is Sardonyx exactly?"

"Oh. That's the fusion of Pearl and Garnet?"

Mettaton's visible eye lit up.

"Fusion, hm? _My."_

As Sans led them forward, all business, Alphys and Peridot walked somewhat slower behind him, chatting idly.

 _"So, what did you ever really do down there?"_

"Monsters in general, or m-me in particular?"

 _"I don't know... I'm working with you, so I might as well get to know you a little better... you in particular."_

"W-well, mostly I just watched old human TV shows."

 _"Hey, me too! What's your favorite show?"_

"Mew Mew Kissie Cutie."

 _"What in the world... I was really hoping you'd say Camp Pining Hearts."_

"What's Camp Pining Hearts?"

 _"Only the best human TV show of all time! It's got just PERFECT character development, a great story, and..._ romance..."

"You sound like you're describing Mew Mew Kissie Cutie."

 _"Really? Who's got the starring role?"_

"Hidasha Hirodasha voices Mew Mew."

 _"That's a real name?"_

"Is Peridot?"

 _"Touché. But... voices?"_

"Oh, yeah..."

Alphys blushed.

"It's an a-anime."

 _"Anime?"_

"W-wait..."

Alphys stepped one step closer, her eyes suddenly glossy and zoned out.

"Y-you... don't know what anime is?"

 _"Uh... no?"_

Sans turned back, his hands in his pockets. His smile was particularly amused.

"peridot... run."

 _"What?"_

"run while you still ca-"

"AN UNSPOILED SOUL!"

 _"Wait, what?"_

"WE'RE ON THE SURFACE! WE'VE GOT UNLIMITED CRUNCHYROLL! WE CAN WATCH _ALL THE ANIME!_ ALL OF IT! AND WE'LL HAVE AN _UNSPOILED SOUL_ WITH US! You don't know who... you don't know what... you don't know how... OH MY GOOD GOD THIS IS AMAZING! I-"

Sans finally spoke up from the front.

"hey, uh, alphys, we're in another universe. the anime you watched at home might not even exist here."

For a fraction of a second, Alphys looked downcast. She looked bad. She looked disappointed.

And then, less than a second later-

"THAT'S EVEN BETTER! UNDYNE AND I CAN WATCH IT FOR THE _FIRST TIME EVER!_ A world full of anime I've never even HEARD OF! THIS IS AMAZIN-"

Sans had turned and walked back, and had suddenly interjected himself right in Alphys' face, inches from her.

"quiet."

She shuddered and shut her mouth.

"S-sorry."

Peridot looked rapidly between the two of them, immensely confused.

 _"What was that? What did I just witness?"_

"S-sorry about all of that. I'm just so exited! You've really never heard of anime?"

 _"Um, no, I haven't."_

"welp, you are definitely in for a ride. tried watchin' anime with alphie here once, but i couldn't handle it. and that was just "light anime."

"Yeah. Some people can't handle it. But I'm sure you can!"

 _"Well... maybe I will watch it. But there's one condition."_

"Anything."

 _"You're going to join Lapis Lazuli and I in binging all of Camp Pining Hearts over one weekend."_

Alphys nodded, almost grimly.

"Alright. We can do it."

"not if i have anything to say about it. we're here."

Indeed, the trio had managed to trek their way all the way to Sans and Papyrus' abandoned house in Snowdin. Sans opened the door to his basement lab, and Peridot and Alphys followed him down.

The machine was in worse shape than any of them expected. The mechanical box was letting out what sounded like a whining hum, and sparks flew from it on regular intervals. Wordlessly, Alphys adjusted her glasses and got to work, stepping closer, her lenses flaring.

She stuck out her hand toward the box, bolts of electricity flashing into her palm.

"I've got the surges under control."

"right."

Sans stepped in and gripped a small lever, before suddenly withdrawing his hand with an exclamation of pain.

"jeez! that is _really_ hot. that is definitely not supposed to be like that. not super durable over here, peridot, you mind helpin' me out?"

 _"Um, yes, absolutely!"_

She thrust her hand out, grunting with exertion. Her fingers twitched in the air as a single bead of sweat rolled down her face. She squinted her eyes, adjusted her stance, and pointed at the lever once again.

 _"OK. You just want me to pull it? Down?"_

"yeah, that's about it."

 _"Right!"_

Alphys was completely concentrating on holding electrical surges in check, her eyes glowing vaguely yellow, the light looking more like bright white lens flares on her glasses. "C'mon, guys, business."

Peridot nodded emphatically and thrust her arm downward, the lever falling with it. Immediately something crackled from the machine and Sans, focused on the task at hand, rushed inward toward it. When he was close enough to touch the box with his head if he leaned forward, he held out his hand, blue light materializing into a bone in his palm, which he immediately used to pry a panel of the machine open, revealing a tangled mess of wires and circuits.

Alphys cringed, watching. It became immediately obvious that this was beyond even _her_ levels of expertise. This Gaster fellow had evidently been a hell of a lot smarter, or at least better educated, than she was. Then again, Sans had always been the physicist, the tactician, not an electrician. Which left her with the immediate worry that _he_ might not know how to do this either, which could spell disaster.

It became quickly clear though that he had at least a vague idea of how it all fit together when he immediately thrust into the "guts" of the box, which were evidently much cooler than the outside. Peridot, having pulled the lever, felt just a little bit useless.

 _"Anything else I need to do?"_

"quiet. i'm busy."

 _"Aaaaalright..."_

Sans was unplugging wires, one at a time, trying to be careful so as not to flay, rip, tear, dent, or otherwise damage anything. He was dead-serious, and moving literally too fast for Peridot or Alphys to track, his arms a mere blur inside the machine.

Unfortunately, his best wasn't good enough. He grabbed one wire and pulled, without first realizing it was tangled into a second, which was attached to an entire circuit board. 'Locomotive Memory,' it said, and Sans had just torn it up. He had to keep moving though, but he was off of his game, and in the time it took Alphys to blink, he'd fouled things up again.

Another wire crossed, another board irreparably damaged. This one, though, was a much more worrisome piece of equipment. 'Core Temperature Control.' Rather than the already-fried external and reactor controls, (JFC this thing was an absolute wreck.) this control system kept the otherworldly energy rushing through the machine from frying the motherboard and internal circuitry, which Sans was currently manipulating with his own bony fingers.

Needless to say, he dove backwards as a sickening burning smell began coming from the machine, and both Alphys and Peridot took a few steps back.

"guys. i... i don't think we're leaving."


	6. Episode 6: A Story

Connie had sat, entranced, listening to Iram and Undyne tell the story of Monsterkind. It was, after all, a very good story. The way the Monsters had been forced into the Underground, to take root in Home, and then New Home. The story of how humans had to be slain, told with no sugarcoating, for the sake of honesty and posterity, so that Connie could understand that evils had to be committed. It disturbed her, of course, but a student of history such as herself also had to understand that sometimes terrible things had to be done for the greater good, no matter how much everyone hated them. Regardless, as the two continued the story of how, when Frisk fell, they were different, how they were unique, how they were determined, she was filled with wonder at the child's abilities, and also uncannily reminded of Steven. She determined immediately that she wanted to meet him. Finally, they reached the end of the story. The part that neither of them remembered. Undyne told this part.

"So, things are going fine! The Queen had returned, and it looked like everyone was going to go on in peaceful existence, even if it had to be Underground. I didn't care at that point, I had Alphys! Have you not met her? I don't think you have."

"No m'am. I didn't get the opportunity."

"Don't call her that."

"Hey, what right do YOU have to say what she calls me!?"

Undyne and Iram stared at each other for a good 15 seconds. Undyne finally broke the silence.

"Fine. I was absolutely about to tell her not to call me that. My name's Undyne, Connie. I don't have need for anything else."

"Yes m'a- Undyne. Right."

"Now where was I?"

Iram perked up. "You were about to tell her about Flowey."

"OH YEAH! OK, so imagine this. Everything's going great, you just got with the best girl in the world, the King and Queen are in the same place for the first time in WHO KNOWS how long, all your best friends are all in one place, and then WHAM. A big-ass vine just whips on through and grabs all of you. That is, me, Alphys, TORIEL, ASGORE, Sans, and Papyrus. This little freaking FLOWER pops out and stars monologue! I try to attack him, but I can't concentrate well enough to use my magic. It really, really sucks. He was gonna try to take all the Human SOULS! Which would have been bad. He monologues some more, we all intervene to save Frisk, and then all of a sudden everything goes black. I don't remember a second after that. All of a sudden we woke up and Frisk was unconscious on the ground."

She continued, telling the story of how the Barrier fell, and how they moved onto the Surface. How they found humanity to be in a Dark Age after a nuclear war, and how humanity still feared and loathed Monsters. How they had to hide out in a relatively small valley they called New Ebbot, because they had nothing else to call it. How despite human attacks, they stuck to their guns and never killed a soul. How despite Monsters dying, despite the monsters' rage, they stayed pacifistic in Frisk's image.

And how, one day, they stepped into Ebbot and a machine went off and they were in a whole new world. It was pretty weird.

"That's... insane. You must be overwhelmed."

Iram chuckled. "We've got a way of rolling with the punches. Monsters are durable buggers."

Connie finally decided to pop the question that had obviously been on her mind from near the very beginning. She wasn't sure how to word it, but... "Aren't... you a human?"

Iram's eyes darkened. "Yeah. In the technical sense, I am. But I tend to identify more with my comrades in arms. Humans were never my allies. I've known two good humans in my life, and it looks like you might be another. Regardless of that fact, I'm somewhat predisposed to look at myself in the lens of monsters, rather than that of humans. Any other questions?"

He seemed less than cheerful about having to talk about it, and even Undyne clearly wasn't comfortable with how goddamn edgy he was being all of a sudden. On account of that fact, she decided to change the subject suddenly.

"You know how to use that sword of yours?"

Connie grinned, drawing it with a flourish and a spin, before holding it in both hands, pointed toward Undyne and Iram at an angle. "Absolutely."

Iram smiled slightly, flicking the lock on his hilt open, gripping the rapier inside, and drawing it with similar unnecessary style. The upper edge of the blade was engraved with the face of a certain cat-dog-creature thing. Odd.

He pointed the tip of the blade at Connie, holding one arm out behind his back like a maitre d serving a glass of wine. "Shall we?"

Connie grinned, stepping forward and getting into a sword-fighting stance. "I'll take this dance."

Undyne frowned, stepping in between them. "We're not here to fight humans! Besides, if there's gonna be a match, I want a piece of it."

Connie nodded curtly and sheathed her sword, putting on a poker face. "Right. And two-on-one wouldn't be fair, so... alright, I'll talk to Pearl and Steven about it. I AM gonna fight you, though!"

Iram smirked, sheathing his own blade and crossing his arms. "Oh, no way I'm letting you get away before we cross steel. But right now, Undyne's right, we're gonna need to figure things out."

Connie nodded.

Sans was standing in his room, silent, staring at the wall from inches away. He'd taken a few minutes to explain that the box was completely fried, damaged beyond repair to the best of his knowledge, and that Gaster had only gotten it working by happenstance in the first place. In other words, the monsters were effectively stranded in this reality. Beached like dust-flavoured whales. It wasn't a pretty thing to contemplate. Sans had simply left the basement of his old house and walked through the front door, stunned.

He'd failed everyone, and so dramatically. He could never look at any of them the same way again. Mettaton would be out for his head. Everyone would be crushed, and who knows what might happen to the monsters without any of their leaders. As attractive an idea as Queen Muffet sounded, he wasn't entirely sure it would be a _good_ one.

And so there he stood, just staring at the wall. He could hear Peridot and Alphys just outside the room, speaking in hushed tones. He couldn't make out their conversation, something about something about something about a home. Naturally, Alphys was already planning for what they'd do and where they'd live.

He cringed. If he could cry, he would have been sobbing at that moment. Instead his grin just grew as he stared at the wall, lost. A rapping came at his door. "Knock knock?"

"who's there?"

"Lizard."

"lizard who?"

"I turned fifteen monsters into horrible amalgamations once."

Sans chuckled bitterly and invited her in.

"that hardly compares to what i just did."

"Yeah. It does. But Sans, this wasn't your fault."

"no, it is my fault. at the very least i could have told someone."

"You did."

"frisk doesn't count. everyone tells them everything."

"That's true, I suppose. You made mistakes, Sans. Big ones."

"you're not bein' super encouraging."

"No. I'm not. I'm being honest. Sans, you... we... ugh. I just want you to understand that we'll support you. Through everything. No matter what happens, no matter what you've done. You're one of us, Sans, and you know, that really counts for something."

"thanks, alphie."

Sans hadn't removed his gaze from the peeling wallpaper, and Alphys stared at the floor, neither of them willing or able to make eye contact with the other.

"Sans, you and I. We're going to fix this. We're going to fix this piece of garbage machine, and we're going to get back to our people. We lived in a hole in the ground for two thousand years. I think we can handle a different world for... however long it takes."

Sans' smile shrank a bit.

"yeah. yeah, we can do that. but how do ya think we break the news?"

"I can't handle that. I'm sorry, but I _cannot_ handle the stress of being the one to tell everyone that they're stranded here. I'll have your back all the way, but you have to be the one to actually tell everyone. Unless you want ASGORE to drop the news. I'm sure he'd do it with his customary... grace."

She went as far as to crack a tiny smile, considering the irony in her statement. He chuckled a bit too. "y'know, that plan doesn't sound too terrible right now."

"Lesser of a great number of evils."

Mettaton had gotten to the point of excitedly chatting to Amethyst about fusion, and he'd been going on and on for nearly an hour now, question after question, outburst after outburst. He was boiling with excitement. "Wait. You say fusion was originally used only for war. But how could it ever be useful for fighting? Wouldn't two gems fighting apart be just as strong as a fusion, but able to attack from more directions?"

"UUh, no. I'm pretty sure fusions are stronger than the sum of their parts. Like, when you're part of a fusion, you just feel... unstoppable! Like a real _brute!_ It's great!"

"Incredible. And you say for your increase in power, you gain an increase in size as well?"

"Absolutely."

"Oh. My. God. I just realized, I've completely forgotten about why we started this conversation in the first place! Tell me about _Sardonyx._ Describe her in one word."

"Uuuh... glamorous!"

"OOOOOH YESSS. We're going to get along _just fine!"_

King ASGORE DREEMURR, Supreme Ruler of all Monsters, the Emperor of Flame and the almighty, unstoppable titan of power that commanded the respect of even warriors like Undyne, had never felt so helpless before in his life.

There was nothing he could do. He could only wait for Sans and his team to complete their mission. And if they failed? He had no clue what he'd do then.


End file.
